"On Nov. 29, we lost Dillon Stewart to gun violence. Mr. Stewart was a New York City police officer who lived in Elmont. He was killed in the line of duty by a convicted criminal using a stolen gun that had been used in another crime earlier this year.

"This gun had been stolen from Florida six years ago, continuing a deadly trend of out-of-state guns killing innocent New Yorkers. While Congress no longer allows the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to disclose data gathered when tracing weapons used in crimes, older information reveals up to 92 percent of guns used in New York crimes come from states with weaker gun laws.

"Our police departments are already overworked because of understaffing, cuts in federal funding to local law enforcement agencies and the more than 4,000 police officers who have been called into military service since September 11, 2001.

"But Congress has done nothing to help our police departments; in fact it has made their already tough jobs even more difficult. Congress allowed the assault weapons ban to expire, enabling street gangs and other criminals to legally buy guns, such as AK-47s and Uzis. Congress has given the gun industry unprecedented immunity from lawsuits stemming from negligence or incompetence. And Congress has done nothing to fix the holes in the National Instant Background Check System (NICS) that allow countless convicted felons to buy guns with no questions asked.

"In fact, in 25 states, less than 60 percent of felons are entered into NICS databases. Without an effective NICS, honest gun sellers will have no way of knowing if a gun buyer is a convicted murderer, rapist or even a terrorist.

"Fixing the NICS databases will help gun sellers in states with weaker gun regulations identify criminals and ensure they will not be able to buy firearms and take them to New York to commit crimes.

"Congress owes it to Dillon Stewart and the rest of the brave men and women who have lost their lives protecting their communities to pass laws that will keep police officers safe on the job."